


The Weight You Carry

by ratatat



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Do you ever think about Tenzin and the pressure he faces bc I do, Sibling Bonding, There's a little Lin and Izumi cameo, all i want is a comic series of young bumi kya and tenzin is that too much to ask, also i tried to make this into a kya and tenzin bonding moment but it turned into something else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26522404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratatat/pseuds/ratatat
Summary: When Tenzin comes back from his vacation to Ember Island with Dad, Kya can tell something's off.
Relationships: Bumi II & Kya II & Tenzin (Avatar), Bumi II & Kya II (Avatar), Bumi II & Tenzin, Kya II & Tenzin (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	The Weight You Carry

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I have a lot of emotions about Aang's kids! I wish we could've seen their childhoods/young adulthoods more often because I have a lot of thoughts about them. Originally this was supposed to be about Kya and Tenzin bonding over the fact that their parents were the last benders of their nation and how they share a responsibility of carrying on their culture but then it turned into this. I'm not super happy with it and I think it could be better but I'm still excited to share it.
> 
> Also I was halfway through writing this when I realized that Aang's family probably lived on Air Temple Island the entire time but I wrote them as living in the Southern Water Tribe. So I guess in this fic they live in the Southern Water Tribe most of the time but spend their summers on Air Temple Island.
> 
> For reference, this takes place when Tenzin is 14, Kya is 16, and Bumi is 18.
> 
> I have a lot more ideas about Kya and Bumi and Tenzin so I might make this a series? No promises though.

“Hey Kya, what’s up with Tenzin?” Bumi whispered. 

“What do you mean? Something’s always up with Tenzin,” she laughed quietly. It was dinnertime and if Mom caught her laughing at Tenzin again she’d be in trouble.

“Yeah, yeah, but this time it’s different. I mean, look at him! He won’t even touch his sea prunes!”

Bumi was right. Tenzin looked at his sea prunes rather glumly, poking the side of it with his fork. He seemed less stressed than usual, and more just… sad. Kya didn’t think she’d ever really seen Tenzin like this before. 

“Well why don’t you ask him what’s bothering him?” Kya said through a mouthful of rice.

“Me? I can’t do that! He’ll just brush me off or think I’m making fun of him. Why can’t _you _talk to him?”__

____

____

“I can’t talk to him either! Then Tenzin will think I’m, like, trying to get him to open up so I can prank him again. Besides, I’m already on thin ice because I took the blame for your little penguin sledding prank, so if anything you owe me one.”

“Aw come on, that was funny! Didn’t you see his face when he fell face first into the snow? That’s some comedy gold, Kya!” Bumi tried to stifle his laughter, but he was too late; Mom was already looking at them. 

“Bumi, Kya, are you making fun of Tenzin again?” At the sound of his name, Tenzin tensed. He slouched further into his chair, examining his pruned seal as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. 

“Aw come on, Mom! Tenzin just came back from Ember Island, he can take some good old fashioned teasing!” Bumi protested. 

Tenzin sat up, hands slamming the table a bit too forcefully. “I’m not hungry. I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” He left quickly, not even bothering to push his chair in. Whatever’s bothering him must be really bad, then.

“Bumi, Kya, go apologize to your brother right now!” Mom said.

“But mom-” Kya started.

“Kya, go apologize. Now.” Mom never used that tone unless it was serious. 

“Ok, ok fine. We’re going.” 

\--- 

Tenzin was not, in fact, in bed. Spirits, he must be in the little snow cave they built when they were kids, into the side of the mountain where Mom and Dad took them penguin sledding before they were old enough to go on their own. Lin and Izumi were visiting, and Lin was just starting out her earthbending and wanted to practice. Kya and Izumi were having a fire-water fight, where Izumi would light little fires in her hands and Kya would try to put them out. Bumi and Tenzin were busy throwing snowballs at each other, and at one point Lin had gotten so mad at them for being distracting that she yelled at them and threw little chunks of rock at their feet. It was a good day. 

The cave was small and a little rough around the edges, but it was theirs. Tenzin must be really upset if he was in there; none of them used it anymore unless they wanted a good cry away from everyone else. 

“What’s got Tenzin so mad that he had to run all the way to the cave?” Bumi was shivering in his coat. “He just came back from vacation with Dad again. If anything, he should be happy.” Bumi didn’t exactly try to hide the bitterness in his voice around her that he did with Tenzin, but it still rubbed her the wrong way.

“I know you’re mad at Dad for not bringing us, but Tenzin needs us right now. We can’t be mean to him.”

Bumi groaned. “I just wish he knew how _good_ he has it. When Dad’s not off saving the world, he’s off with Tenzin. We barely got _two days_ with Dad before he had to go to the Earth Kingdom to figure out some weird monarchy crap. Tenzin got a _whole week_ with him. I didn’t get a chance to show him the boomerang move that Uncle Sokka showed me or the fan fighting from Aunt Suki!”

_____ _

Kya sighed. She also wanted to talk to Dad about some pretty big things. She wanted the whole family there for when she would come out. If Bumi or Tenzin or Mom had any disagreements, Dad would set it right. It was scary still, the thought of telling them, but at least she was less afraid when she knew Dad would be there for her, no matter what. 

“I know you miss Dad, but we can’t let the whole ‘favorite child’ thing get in the way. Tenzin needs us right now, not Dad. Promise me you won’t take out your anger on him when we get there?”

“Alright, I promise.” Bumi huffed. “Don’t make me promise to not prank him again, though. I missed out on pranking him for a full week, and I’ve got something super special planned for tomorrow.”

“Maybe hold off on the prank for now. Push it off until next week. Besides, whatever you’re planning, I want in,” she grinned. 

“Deal.”

\--- 

“Tenzin, you in there?” Bumi called. It was getting dark and there wasn’t any light inside the cave. 

“Cmon Tenzy, it’s cold out and I know you didn’t put on your coat before leaving!” Kya said. 

“Go away!” Tenzin yelled. She could just barely make out his figure in the dark of the cave. 

“Tenzin, come on. We didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, we’re sorry!” Bumi said. 

“You didn’t hurt my feelings. I’m fine, go away.”

“Tenzin we all know that’s bullshit. We’re coming in!” Kya took Bumi’s hand and marched into the cave. Tenzin was sitting at the very end, his front facing the wall.

“Tenzin, could you at least face us? We’re sorry for upsetting you, we really didn’t mean it.”

Tenzin sighed and turned around. “It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean anything. And the penguin sledding prank was funny, Bumi. Good work.”

“Why thank you sir!” Bumi puffed his chest with pride. 

“Tenzin, you’re trying to change the subject,” Kya said. “What’s bothering you? It can’t just be that we were making fun of you, we do that all the time and you rarely say anything about it.”

“It’s ok. It’s just… It has to do with Dad. I don’t want you thinking any less of him.”

Bumi and Kya looked at each other. Tenzin really had no idea, did he? Bumi opened his mouth to speak, but Kya swatted his arm quickly. 

“Ow, what was that for?”

“This isn’t about us, Bumi,” she hissed. “Don’t say anything about it.”

“Tenzin, I promise we won’t hate Dad. Now just tell us what’s bugging you so we can all go back home and eat some sweet buns.”

Tenzin stayed quiet for a moment. Then: “There’s so much pressure on me. From Dad. I don’t know if I can handle it. It’s always about ‘when you get your tattoos’ and ‘when you become a master’ and ‘you’re not doing this move right’ or ‘you’re not meditating the right way’. I don’t know how I’m supposed to bring back the Air Nation when I’m nowhere close to becoming a master. The entire time on Ember Island was just airbending practice and I still can’t do anything right! What if I never do it and the Air Nation dies with Dad?”

Bumi laughed. “Tenzin, have you seen your airbending? You’re practically a master already! You could probably go toe to toe with any old airbender-”

“But there’s only one other airbender, Bumi!” Tenzin yelled. “It’s just me and Dad! How am I supposed to carry on Dad’s legacy when I can barely do any of the moves Dad does? Dad was 12 when he got his tattoos. I’m 14 and nowhere _close_! I’m a failure!”

____

“Tenzin, no, you’re not a failure.” Kya reached out and touched his shoulder. “You make Dad so proud. I know you’ve got a tough job, but there’s no one I trust more to carry on Dad’s legacy than you. Plus, Dad’s got all the airbending avatars that helped him become a master. He had to fight an entire war when he was 12. We’re lucky that the only conflict we’ll ever see is Lin and Su arguing.”

Tenzin choked out a laugh. “That's already bad enough. I just… no one understands the stress that I’m under, to carry this on my back all the time. It’s not easy.”

“Tenzin, you really think we,” Kya gestures to Bumi and herself, “don’t understand? Mom was the last waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe until me. Bumi , you, me, we’ve all seen how Mom and Uncle Sokka helped rebuild the Southern Water Tribe after the war. We feel the effects of the war, same as you.”

“But there are other waterbenders. And other villages that have rebuilt since the 100 Year War. There’s more of you than there ever will be me. I can get married and have kids, but where does that leave the Air Nation? Four, maybe five people? That’s not even a nation, Kya! It’s a group! A band! A family!”

Kya sighed. Tenzin was right. Sure, she felt pressure to help the Water Tribe, but there were other waterbenders. Not many, but there were more than just two. She was the leader though. She and Mom, almost everything they did was to train the younger kids, teach them how to fight, how to heal. And there was pressure, a lot of it; what if she’s never as good as Mom, what if she’s a failure, what if the Water Tribe will never get back to its former glory, what if she gets kicked out and never gets to come back again? But at least she had other people to lean on for it. What did Tenzin have? Vacations with Dad at best. And yeah, Kya would kill to go on vacations with them, but she never realized how it felt for Tenzin. She thought it was just for fun. When it comes to being an airbender, it really is just Tenzin and Dad against the world. And Dad was so upbeat too. Has Tenzin ever even _told_ Dad that he felt this way? 

____

“You’re not alone, Tenzin.” Kya jumped. Bumi, who had been quiet this entire time, had started to speak. “You’ve got the air acolytes. You’ve got us. We’re not airbenders, but we are a family. And we’ll always have your back. Rebuilding a nation is gonna be hard, but you don’t have to do it alone. We’ll be right there next to you when you get your tattoos- and you will get them, don’t even _try_ to say that you won’t- and we’ll be there when you meditate and do your funky little airbending moves. The Air Nation is gonna survive, Tenzin, and we’ll be there to help you keep it. We’re all Aang’s kids, this isn’t something you handle alone. It’s _all_ our burden.”

_____ _

Tenzin stared at Bumi. Oh spirits, now Tenzin was offended, what had they said to make him even _more_ upset, this is terrible, Kya and Bumi were never any good at comfort and this was an _awful_ idea and _why_ did Mom tell them to do this and-

_____ _

“Thank you, Bumi,” Tenzin said before pulling him into a hug. Bumi tensed for a second, but hugged Tenzin back. Maybe a little too hard; she could hear Tenzin wheeze for a second. 

“I just…” Tenzin’s voice was muffled by Bumi’s coat. “It’s just so hard, and there’s no solution. It’s all up to me, and I can’t imagine what would happen if I couldn’t keep the Air Nation alive.”

“There’s no easy solution Tenzin, but Bumi and I have no doubt you can do it.” Kya joined in on the hug too. “You’re strong, and brave, and a great airbender, no matter what you say. Dad’s already proud of you, and he’ll keep being proud. There’s nothing you can do to mess this up.”

They stayed like that for a moment. It reminded Kya of when they were little and it was snowing outside. They’d all huddle together and hug each other while Mom made sure to keep the snow off of them by waterbending the snow out of the way. Bumi would eventually stick his head out from the shield and try to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

But it couldn’t last forever. 

“Come on Tenzin, Mom’s probably worried sick about us. Plus it’s cold and you don’t have a coat. Mom’s gonna kill me if you get sick.”

“Yeah, alright.” Tenzin got up. “Let’s go back home.”


End file.
